A fluorescent phospholipid probe was used in conjunction with confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), to visualise bacteria which inhabit in radiata pine wood and degrade pit membranes. CLSM has the ability to collect fluorescent images through different emission filters at the same time, so it is possible to distinguish gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria in infected wood by counterstaining wood sections with specific fluorescent stains. Images obtained using CLSM were compared with those acquired using light microscopy (LM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Strong fluorescence of the phospholipid probe made it possible to visualise bacteria in wood even when present in numbers too small to detect by LM or SEM.

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